Our Project “Advanced CAR T cell engineering to augment the GvL effect of ASCT” focuses on optimizing CAR T cell strategies as both a bridge to transplant and post-ASCT CAR donor lymphocyte infusion in AML and multiple myeloma. It aims to enhance efficacy by engineering glucocorticoid-resistant CAR T cells to preserve anti-tumor activity during GvHD and CRS, enabling serial antigen targeting to strengthen the graft-versus-leukemia effect, and dissecting how alloreactivity and inflammation drive resistance and neurotoxicity during CAR T cell therapy, ultimately improving ASCT outcomes and integrating CAR T cells into clinical treatment algorithms.

I hold the Chair for Cellular Immunotherapy at the University of Würzburg and serve as Director of the Translational CAR T Cell Research Program within the Department of Internal Medicine II. In addition, I lead the Würzburg branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (Fraunhofer IZI) in Leipzig. My research focuses on next generation CAR T cell therapies and includes, but is not limited to, target discovery and validation, advanced virus-free genetic engineering techniques, clinical translation of novel CAR T cell therapies into First-in-Human clinical trials, flagship cross academic-industry research projects to enhance the safety and efficacy of CAR T cell therapies, manufacturing and clinical platforms for novel CAR T cell therapies and super-resolution microscopy.

Department of Medicine III